All Saints Primary

Scientific Connections

Our Class

• We went on a trip to Sea Life and learnt about animals.
• In science we were learning about how the body works
• In science we learned about the water cycle

Minerva Scientifica

• The important thing we did for science was Minerva Scientifica at the Beacon
• We met LOUISE LARKIN, marine engineer, Sandra Spence, biochemist and ALISON DUNNE, engineer.
• The scientists showed us what they done and showed us cool pictures.
• I especially remember that they went to a big machine (Large Hadron Collider) what exploded from a man dropping food (a baguette!!!) on it.
• It was surprising that Frances has a dinosaur poo!!!

Compositions

Our standout memory at the Beacon Arts Centre show was the kids, absolutely amazing – their wee songs were amazing!! So impressed!  Sandra McLaughlin & Cathy Bethel from Clydeside Singers

Title: Georgetown Munitioneers
Scientist: AGNES BORTHWICK
Composed by: All Saints Primary P6B
Words: based on poems by Geo. W Cleghorn, John Oxenham, R. H. Roberts, published in the Georgetown Gazette (1916) alongside various other extracts from anonymous articles and poems
Written in: Jan – March 2019
Arranged by: Frances M Lynch & Herbie Clarke
For: voices & guitar
Performed by: All Saints Primary P6 & Herbie Clarke (guitar)
First Performed: Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock, Scotland March 8th 2019 as part of “Echoes from Inverclyde” by electric voice theatre

This is a live recording, made at a school assembly just before the Beacon performance. It was inspired by poems and stories published in the works magazine of the Georgetown Munitions Factory where AGNES BORTHWICK (1889-1949), born and brought up in Greenock, was manager. She was in charge of more than 7,000 workers, who were mainly women, but the site was wiped out not long after WW1. These magazines give some lively insight into life there.
Like the next song – this formed part of a larger work in the show which celebrated the work of Agnes, all the women at the factory and those in similar work places all over the UK.

YOU CAN FIND THE LYRICS OF BOTH SONGS HERE ON A PDF

Title: A Letter From Home
Scientist: AGNES BORTHWICK
Composed by: All Saints Primary P6A
Words: based on a prize winning poem by Jessie Duffton published in the Georgetown Gazette (1916) alongside various other extracts anonymous poems and articles
Written in: Jan – March 2019
Arranged by: Frances M Lynch & Herbie Clarke
For: voices & guitar
Performed by: All Saints Primary P6 & Herbie Clarke (guitar)
First Performed: Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock, Scotland March 8th 2019 as part of “Echoes from Inverclyde” by electric voice theatre

Like the previous song – this one is a live recording. It was inspired in the same way and like the previous song was created by the composers choosing scraps of text and pictures from the magazines of the Georgetown Munitions Factory. The two classes worked separately – and each one split into groups who worked on their own verse, then each class met together to write their choruses. The children really got to grips with life in this factory, and it’s clear from their songs that they were excited to bring the words and stories of these women engineers to life.

YOU CAN FIND THE LYRICS OF BOTH SONGS HERE ON A PDF

Title: I WANT TO BE AN ENGINEER
Scientists: LOUISE LARKIN, ALISON DUNNE, Sandra Spence
Composed by: Frances M Lynch & All Saints Primary 6A&B
Written in: Jan – March 2019
For: A cappella voices
Performed by: All Saints Primary P6
First Performed:  Beacon Arts Centre, March 8th, 2019 as part of “Echoes from Inverclyde” by electric voice theatre

I liked best writing “I want to be an engineer” and performing it to the school

LYRICS by Frances M Lynch:

I want to be an engineer
I’ll have a fabulous career
Building bridges, ships and aeroplanes,
Toasters, bikes and video games
Explosives, drains, bionic limbs,
Controlling pollution, recycling inventions
Lipsticks in outer space!

Education

In our class there are lots of singers, and some of us play instruments like guitar, drums, piano, violin, flute, piccolo, trombone and harmonica. Our school have a really good choir, and we can have brass, woodwind and singing lessons too. We use ABC Music online in the classroom

• The singing lessons are special at school
• We made an anti-drug song, poem or rap.

Occupations

Lots of us want to be singers, and 5 want to be scientists and another 5 want to be composers.

• I’ve always wanted to be a singer
• I think being a singer or scientist is just cool
• I thought about being a scientist or musician because you get to teach people about people in the past
• I’m not sure if I want to be a scientist or musician. I think I might choose when I’m older

Musical Highlights

We performed “Echoes from Inverclyde” at the Beacon Arts Centre. The show had its own song, and we sang it!

Echoes fae Inverclyde
There’s never been anywhere better tae bide
We’ve engineers, scientists, doctors besides
The best brains of all come fae Inverclyde!

• The Inverclyde song and MARY SOMERVILLE, it was very fun to sing – everyone was hyper!
• I liked best making beats and using the arrows.
• I liked the MARY SOMERVILLE song best
• The best thing was making our own music up
• The best thing was how to perform and how to write music

Did You Know?

• How many female scientists there are
• That there was thousands of scientists back in 1905
• You can use poems to make cool songs
• MARY SOMERVILLE is on a ten pound note. It was funny when we had to do the action of walking the dog in her song & that she escaped her house everyday
• VICTORIA DRUMMOND is Queen Victoria’s god-daughter
• The funny part was when Frances fell to the ground waving her feet up in the air
• It was funny when Frances was talking to the speakers (the ones playing the music for Maths) & sung the WILLIAMINA FLEMING I was surprised at the bit when the baby became a pinnie
• The best thing I learnt was that women are just as good as men

An Inspiring Woman

Music: I thought about being a singer because FRANCES made it fun & interesting

Science: MARY SOMERVILLE and all the other SCOTTISH SUPERWOMEN OF SCIENCE

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